CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – It was almost too ridiculous to comprehend. Could it possibly happen again? Was there any chance at all?
A night after a walk-off grand slam gave the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team an improbable victory over nationally ranked Lamar, the Islanders seemed poise to attempt something similar one more time. But a controversial finish Saturday afternoon put an end to such chatter, leading to a 6-3 loss in Game 2 of the three-game series at Chapman Field.
"It was a controversial finish for sure, but that play didn't lose the game for us," TAMU-CC coach
Scott Malone said. "We're playing one of the better teams in the league and they're playing at a high level. We have to match that. We finished two innings of baseball today and we're down 4-0. We finished three innings of baseball last night and we're losing 3-0. I told the guys after the game, that's not a good recipe when you're playing one of the best teams in the league to go down three or four runs early. Our starting pitching has to be better, our defense has to be better and our offense has to get going earlier. It's gonna be a dogfight to see who can win the series."
It turned into a dogfight Saturday as well. And the similarities to the night before were eerie.
Just like Friday, the Islanders (18-25 overall, 6-8 Southland Conference) entered the bottom of the ninth trailing by three runs. Just like Friday,
Sebastian Trinidad led off for the Islanders in the ninth. Just like Friday, Trinidad made the first out. And just like Friday,
Logan Vaughan had a single to keep the rally alive.
But the similarities (almost) end there.
Friday night the Islanders loaded the bases twice before
Issac Webb cleared them with his monumental grand slam, extending his hitting streak to 11 games with his only hit of the game. Saturday, the Islanders were down two quick outs when Trinidad and
Chance Reisdorph both flied out on 3-1 pitches.
But the Islanders still got two on after
Christian Smith-Johnson and Vaughan singled, and it looked as if they might get the bases loaded again.
With two outs on a 1-2 pitch,
Cole Modgling – like Webb, needing a hit to extend his hitting streak to seven games – took an awkward swing on an inside breaking ball that bounced off his shin. The ball bounded toward the Islanders dugout and Modgling – who was hit by pitch Friday night in the pivotal ninth inning – raced for first base, making it before the throw.
That would have brought
Mason Persons to the plate with the bases loaded, just like Friday night when he was walked to drive in a run. And with Webb on deck, the excitement began to stir.
But after a lengthy meeting between the three umpires, it was ruled that Modgling had been hit by the ball after his swing, making it a strike out and a dead ball. Game over.
The final score? 6-3, just like Friday.
"I thought the ninth inning was a good fight again," Malone said. "I think the difference tonight was they had to get through Trinidad. They got behind in a 3-1 count and he let them off the hook. Then they had to get through Reisdorph. They got behind in a 3-1 count again and he let him off the hook. Just like the inning before, our big bang guy (
Garrett Gruell), who had a good day, got in a 1-0 count, and he let them off the hook by hitting into a double play. We had our big bats up late and in some big spots, and we just didn't win the at-bat. We have to be better."
One person who was exceptional was
Jack Hill.
The junior righty replaced starting pitcher
Riely Hunsaker in the third inning after Hunsaker gave up four runs on five hits in two innings. Hill, who hadn't thrown more than 58 pitches or gone longer than 4.2 innings in a game this season, stepped up with 5.2 innings of guts and fortitude.
Hill allowed just one unearned run on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. He also picked off two runners and nearly doubled his season high for pitches, tossing an even 100.
"
Jack Hill was great," Malone said. "He has been consistently good weekend after weekend after weekend. I can't say enough about what he's doing for us. He's starting to put pressure on the three starters. You know, if he keeps throwing like he's going, he's going to force somebody to clear a space for him. He's been really good for us."
TAMU-CC's three runs came on a Reisdorph groundout that scored Gruell in the fourth, Gruell scoring on a wild pitch in the sixth and Blount smacking a pinch-hit single in the eighth that drove in Webb. Webb bumped his hitting streak to a season- and career-high 12 games with a double in the eighth.
Gruell had three hits, including his team-leading 11th double, which ties him with Trinidad, who also hit his 11th double of the season. Gruell also added a stolen base, his third of the season.
"It has been a great series so far," Malone said. "I do think we're playing good baseball, but we're gonna have to play better to take two out of three from a top 25 team and one of the best teams in our league. Lamar's got it going. They're playing good baseball and they're playing with confidence. We're gonna have to match that tomorrow."
TAMUCC (18-25, 6-8 SLC)
Friday, April 19 – vs. Lamar, W (6-3)
Saturday, April 20 – vs. Lamar, L (6-3)
Sunday, April 21 – vs. Lamar (30-7, 9-2), 1 p.m., Chapman Field, Corpus Christi
On Deck: Following the series with Lamar, the Islanders will play a midweek game at Prairie View A&M at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, followed by a three-game SLC series at New Orleans. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m., Friday, April 26, at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 27 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, April 28.
Home again: The Islanders will return home on Friday, May 3 to begin a three-game conference series with McNeese at Chapman Field. The teams will play at 6 p.m. Friday, May 3, at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4 and at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 5.
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